'Local First' Black and Red Friday event returns

Monday

Nov 12, 2012 at 12:59 PMNov 12, 2012 at 1:02 PM

Chillicothe will host its own version again this year of the nationally known Black Friday promotion, "Black and Red Friday" this Friday, Nov. 16.

Lindy Chapman, executive director of the Chillicothe Area Chamber of Commerce explained that participating businesses will host special promotions and deals on Friday, will be listed in the advertising for the event, and will be identified by flyers posted on the front of the store.

"The Black and Red Friday promotion grew out of a desire to make sure that Chillicothe and area residents spent their time and money shopping locally," Chapman said. "This holiday shopping event encourages shoppers to see what their local stores have to offer before hitting the highway or cyber sales the following week."

Participating businesses will be offering special sales on hot ticket items, one-time discounts or other unique promotions for this community-wide event.

Two community organizations, Main Street Chillicothe and the Chillicothe Area Chamber of Commerce teamed up in 2011 to launch a "Local First: Think Local, Buy Local, Be Local," which promotes spending locally throughout the year. This campaign was created to boost local sales, create local awareness of the benefits of spending locally, and positively impact the Chillicothe business community.

"Black & Red Friday" is just one of the promotions this program runs during the year.

"We know that when a person buys locally more money stays in our community. Additionally, this creates a broader tax base, and the ability for local businesses to give back to local organizations and programs," according to Crystal Narr, executive director of Main Street Chillicothe.